1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a game system and, more particularly, to an initial data input system for a commercial video game machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A multiplicity of video game programs have recently been developed with the spread of video game machines.
Such a video game is so designed that various kinds of characters appear in the game space in accordance with the story of the game.
In most types of the recent video games, the ability of a character such as the hero of the game operated by the player makes an influence on the progress of the game. As such ability setting types of games, role playing games and simulation games etc. are known.
In this type of game, the game proceeds in such a manner that the player sets the ability data of a character in advance, and the ability data of the character changes successively with the development of the game.
In a roll playing game, for example, when the player creates a character which is to appear in the game such as a person who is to appear in the game and determines the name, kind (e.g., a human being and a fairy), occupation (e.g., a warrior and a witch), etc. prior to the start of the game, the initial ability of the character such as the physical strength, intellect, life force and agility are automatically set in correspondence with the character. The ability of the character initially set in this manner is expressed numerically, and if a character has succeeded in an action, the numerical value increases, thereby enabling the character to defeat the strong enemies against which the character has been powerless. This phenomenon is called the growth of the character.
The ability of the character is not only improved but also reduced in accordance with the action. Therefore, if the player is unskilled in the game, the character is often defeated by the enemies before the character grows sufficiently, whereby the game is over.
If the player challenges the game repeatedly and gets skilled in the content of the game, he gradually becomes capable of achieving the aim of the game (the final object such as finding the treasure and rescuing the captured princess). In this way, the player can play the game while enjoying the growth of the character.
In such a game, the player is required to enhance the ability of the character while repeating trials and errors, as described above. Such games are therefore suitable as home video games.
The most important requisition for a home video game, however, is to be cheap. For this reason, such a home video game is often lacking in the beauty of the image, the speed of the image change and the elaborateness of the game story, so that it is difficult to provide a home video game which adequately satisfies the player.
In contrast, if such an ability setting type game is provided as a commercial video game, it is possible to solve the above-described problems in a home video game and the content of the game will be satisfactory to the the player.
On the other hand, this type of game requires to a certain degree of trial and error for getting skilled in the content of the game. If such a game is played on a commercial video game machine, it therefore takes the player too much time and money. Accordingly, the development of a system has been demanded which enables the player to enjoy a commercial video game in the necessary shortest time and with the smallest money.